Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PROCESSING PACKET-SWITCHED VOICE CALLS DIRECTED TO A
MOBILE UNIT OPERATING IN CIRCUIT-SWITCHED MODE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to routing of communications in a cellular
communication network and, more particularly, to routing of packet-switched
voice
calls directed to a mobile subscriber unit in a cellular communication
network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIGURE 1 illustrates the architecture of a conventional cellular communication
network, for example the Personal Digital Cellular system. The mobile station
or
mobile subscriber unit MS is capable of conducting both circuit-switched
communication and packet-switched communication in the cellular network.
Moreover, the cellular network supports voice communication via circuit-
switched
connections and via packet switching. The mobile subscriber unit typically has
a
permanent address, for example an Internet Protocol (IP) address which is
known by
the network. The data terminal equipment (DTE) attached to the mobile
subscriber
unit is configured with the IP address.
When the Gateway Packet Mobile Services Switching Center (GPMSC)
receives an incoming IP voice packet from the Internet Host IH via the
Intemet,
GPMSC checks with the home location register HLR and the Visited Mobile
Services
Switching Center VMSC to see if the mobile subscriber unit MS to which the IP
voice
packet is directed is ah-eady busy in a circuit-switched (CS) call. The HLR
tells
GPMSC whether or not the mobile subscriber unit is in the packet mode, and the
VMSC tells the GPMSC whether the mobile subscriber unit is in CS mode or is
idle.
If it is determined that the mobile subscriber unit is already busy in a CS
call, then the
incoming IP voice packets directed to the mobile subscriber unit will be
rejected. If,
on the other hand, the mobile subscriber unit is not busy in a circuit-
switched call, then
the GPMSC sets up a packet channel to MS/DTE, and an IP voice session between
the
Internet Host IH and the mobile subscriber unit can be established.
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Also shown in FIGURE 1 are a Visited Packet Mobile Services Switching
Center VPMSC, a Gateway Mobile Services Switching Center GMSC, a Public
Switched Telephone Network PSTN, an Integrated Services Digital Network ISDN,
and a radio network, all well known components of a conventional cellular
network
architecture.
The above-described conventional operation of the GPMSC is illustrated in
FIGURE 2. If an IP voice call is received at 21, it is determined at 23
whether or not
the mobile station is busy in a circuit-switched call. If the mobile station
is busy in a
circuit-switched call, then the IP voice packets are rejected at 25. If the
mobile station
is not busy in a circuit-switched call at 23, then the GPMSC sets up a packet
channel
to MS/DTE, and an IP voice session between the Internet Host IH and the mobile
subscriber unit can be established at 27.
It is desirable in view of the foregoing to process incoming packet-switched
voice calls such that the voice packets are not rejected if the mobile
subscriber unit to
which they are directed is busy in a circuit-switched call.
According to the present invention, packet-switched voice calls directed to a
mobile subscriber unit that is busy in a circuit-switched call are
accommodated
without rejecting the voice packets. Either the information in the packet-
switched
voice call is forwarded to a destination other than the mobile subscriber
unit, or the
mobile subscriber unit is notified that the packet-switched voice call is
waiting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 illustrates a conventional cellular communication network.
FIGURE 2 illustrates operations performed by the GPMSC of FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 3 is a block diagram which conceptually illustrates how a GPMSC
according to the present invention processes packet-switched voice calls
directed to
a mobile subscriber unit that is busy in a circuit-switched call. =
FIGURE 4 illustrates the operation of the GPMSC of FIGURE 3 when it
receives a packet-switched voice call directed to a mobile subscriber unit.
FIGURE 5 illustrates one exemplary response of the GPMSC when the mobile
subscriber unit is busy in FIGURE 4.
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FIGIJRE 6 illustrates one exemplary response of the GPMSC when the mobile
subscriber unit is busy in FIGURE 4 or does not accept the call in FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 7 illustrates another exemplary response of the GPMSC when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy in FIGURE 4 or does not accept the call in
FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 8 illustrates another exemplary response of the GPMSC when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy in FIGURE 4 or does not accept the call in
FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 9 illustrates another exemplary response of the GPMSC when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy in FIGURE 4 or does not accept the call in
FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 10 illustrates one exemplary response of the GPMSC when the
mobile subscriber unit accepts the call in FIGURE 5 in circuit-switched mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Example FIGURE 3 is a block diagram which illustrates the routing of packet-
switched voice calls by a GPMSC 32 according to the present invention. The
communication links at 30, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39 are illustrated conceptu-1 ly
for
clarity of exposition. A packet-switched voice call is received at an input of
GPMSC
32 via one of the communication links. The GPMSC 32 responds to receipt of the
call
by providing at an output thereof a suitable communication to be carried, for
example,
by one of the communication links to one of the components shown in FIGURE 3.
Workers in the art will readily comprehend from the following description the
actual
routing of communications in FIGURE 3.
Referencing also exemplary FIGURE 4, if at 21 the GPMSC 32 receives at an
input thereof a packet-switched voice call (in this example an IP voice call
from
Internet Host IH), it is first detemzined at 23 whether or not the mobile
subscriber unit
is busy in a circuit-switched call. If not, then at 27 the GPMSC 32 sets up a
packet
channel to MS/DTE, and an IP voice session between the Internet Host IH and
the
mobile subscriber unit can be established. This voice session is conducted via
the
GPMSC 32 and the communication links 31 and 30. It will be noted that the
operations at 21, 23 and 27 in FIGURE 4 are the same as the correspondingly
numbered operations in prior art FIGURE 2. Thus, when the mobile subscriber
unit
is not busy in a circuit-switched call, the GPMSC 32 responds to an incoming
packet-
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switched =
voice call in the satne manner as the prior art GPMSC described above with
respect to exemplary FIGURES 1 and 2.
If at 23 the mobile subscriber unit is busy in a circuit-switched call, then
the
GPMSC 32 can respond by executing any one of five exemplary procedures
designated at B, C, D, E and F in FIGURE 4.
The exemplary procedure designated at F in FIGURE 4 is the call waiting
procedure of FIGURE 5. At 51 in the call waiting procedure, the GPMSC 32
notifies
the mobile subscriber unit of the IP voice ca1I. Use of a call-waiting
notification is
well known in the art. It is advantageous, however, to provide at the mobile
subscriber
unit a unique indication (e.g. audible) that enables the user to determine
that the
waiting call is a packet-switched voice call. The user of the mobile
subscriber unit
determines whether or not to accept the IP voice call. The decision of the
user is
transmitted to the GPMSC, and the GPMSC determines at 53 whether or not the
user
of the mobile subscriber unit has accepted the IP voice call. If not, then the
GPMSC
executes any one of the aforementioned procedures designated at B, C, D and E.
If the
user of the mobile subscriber unit accepts the IP call at 53, it is then
determined at 55
whether the mobile subscriber unit has chosen to receive the IP voice call in
circuit-
switched mode or in packet-switched mode.
If circuit-switched mode is selected at 55, then the GPMSC executes the
exemplary procedure designated at G in FIGURE 5. If packet-switched mode is
selected, then the GPMSC sets up a packet channel to MS/DTE, and an IP voice
session between the Internet Host IH and the mobile subscriber unit can be
established
(27). It will be noted that the IP voice session conducted at 27 in FIGURE 5
can be
the same as the conventional IP voice session illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 4.
After
the IP voice session is completed at 27, the call waiting procedure of FIGURE
5
proceeds to point A of FIGURE 4 and thus re-enters the decision block 21 of
FIGURE
4.
Exemplary FIGURE 6 illustrates the procedure designated at B in FIGURES
4 and 5. This procedure can be executed by GPMSC 32 when the mobile subscriber
unit is busy in a circuit-switched call at 23 in FIGURE 4 or when the mobile
subscriber unit does not accept the IP voice call at 53 in FIGURE 5. The
procedure
designated at B in FIGURES 4-6 is operative to set up and conduct an IP voice
session
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between the Internet Host IH and an IP voice mailbox (see FIGURE 3). In FIGURE
6, the GPMSC alters the source and destination addresses in the IP voice
packets that
are exchanged between the Internet Host IH and the IP voice mailbox.
If it is determined at 61 that a packet arriving at the GPMSC 32 is from the
Intemet Host IH, then at 63 the GPMSC changes the destination address in that
packet
to the address of the IP voice mailbox, and also changes the source address of
that
packet to the address of DTE. It will be noted that the destination address
which is
received from the Internet Host IH, and which is changed at 63 to the IP voice
mailbox
address, is the DTE address. It will likewise be noted that the source address
which
is received from the Internet Host IH, and which is replaced at 63 by the DTE
address,
is the address of the Intemet Host IH. The destination address is changed to
the IP
voice mailbox address so that the packet is routed to the IP voice mailbox,
and the
source address is changed to the DTE address because the IP voice mailbox
needs this
address for identification of the mobile user. After the source address and
destination
address are changed at 63-, the packet is released at 65.
It is thereafter detennined at 67 whether there are any more packets in the IP
voice session. If so, then control returns to decision block 61. If not, then
control
proceeds to point A of FIGURE 4 and thus re-enters decision block 21 of FIGURE
4.
If the GPMSC receives a packet from the IP voice mailbox at 61, then at 69 the
GPMSC 32 changes the destination address of that packet to the address of the
Internet
Host IH, and aiso changes the source address of that packet to the DTE
address. It will
be noted that a packet received at GPMSC 32 from the IP voice mailbox would
have
the DTE address for a destination address, and would have the IP voice mailbox
address as a source address. These addresses supplied by the IP voice mailbox
are
changed at 69 in order to facilitate the IP voice session between the IP voice
mailbox
and the Intemet Host IH. After the addresses are changed at 69, the packet is
released
at 65 as described above.
It will be recognized from the foregoing description of FIGURE 6 that GPMSC
acts as a proxy server, translating the IP source and destination addresses.
The packets
received from the Internet Host IH have their destination addresses changed to
pennit
them to be rerouted to the IP voice mailbox (instead of DTE), and also have
their
source addresses changed in order to permit the IP voice mailbox to identify
them as
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packets associated with DTE. According to the invention, the IP voice mailbox
may
include, for example, a look-up table including the MS/DTE addresses of all
mobile
stations that use the IP voice mailbox. When the IP voice mailbox receives a
voice
packet, it can first compare the source address of the packet to the MS/DTE
address
entries in the table. If a matching MS/DTE address is found in the table, then
the IP
voice mailbox stores the packet in the mailbox associated with the matched
MS/DTE
address. If no match is found, the IP voice mailbox discards the packet. It
should also
be noted that the IP voice mailbox should preferably be physically closely
connected
to GPMSC 32, for example, closely enough that packets exchanged therebetween
would not need to traverse the Intemet.
It will also be appreciated that packets received at GPMSC from the IP voice
mailbox have their destination addresses changed to pennit them to be rerouted
to the
Intemet Host IH (instead of DTE), and have their source addresses changed in
order
to permit the Internet Host IH to accept them as packets from DTE. The GPMSC
32
makes it appear to the IP voice mailbox that packets from the Internet Host IH
are
instead from DTE, and also makes it appear to the Internet Host IH that
packets from
the IP voice mailbox are instead from DTE. This address mapping operation
facilitates the IP voice session between the Internet Host IH and the IP voice
mailbox.
FIGURE 7 illustrates another exemplary response of the GPMSC 32 when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy at 23 in FIGURE 4 or when the mobile subscriber
unit
does not accept the IP voice call at 53 in FIGURE 5. The procedure in FIGURE 7
is
- designated at C in FIGURES 4, 5 and 7. In FIGURE 7, the GPMSC 32 sets up and
conducts an IP voice session between the Intemet Host IH and the Internet Host
IH1
(see FIGURE 3). If a packet is received from the Internet Host IH at 71, then
the
destination address and source address of that packet are changed at 73. In
particular,
the destination address of the packet is changed to the address of Internet
Host IH1,
and the source address of the packet is changed to the address of GPMSC 32. It
will
be noted that the destination address as originally received from the Internet
Host IH
would have been the DTE address, and the source address would have been the
address of the Internet Host IH. After the addresses are changed at 73, the
packet is
released at 75. Thereafter at 77, the GPMSC determines whether or not there
are any
more packets to be routed in the IP voice session. If so, then the procedure
re-enters
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decision block 71. If not, then the procedure moves to point A in FIGURE 4 to
re-
enter decision block 21 of FIGURE 4.
Packets received from Internet Host IH1 at 71 have their destination and
source
addresses changed at 79. More specifically, the destination address of such
packets
is changed to the address of the Internet Host IH, and the source address of
such
packets is changed to the address of DTE. It will be noted that the
destination address
of packets as received from Intemet Host IH1 would be the address of GPMSC 32
and
the source address of such packets would be the address of Internet Host IH 1.
After
the addresses are changed at 79, the packet is released at 75 as described
above.
It will be appreciated that the GPMSC acts as a proxy server in FIGURE 7,
translating the IP addresses. By changing the addresses at 73 in FIGURE 7, the
GPMSC 32 permits packets sent from Internet Host IH to DTE to be redirected by
GPMSC to Internet Host IH1. The changing of addresses at 79 permits packets
sent
from the Intemet Host IH1 to the GPMSC 32 to be forwarded from the GPMSC 32 to
the Internet Host IH and to appear as though they originated at DTE. Tfius,
the
address mapping procedures at 73 and 79 enable the GPMSC to conduct an IP
voice
session between the Internet Host IH and the Internet Host IH1.
FIGURE 8 illustrates another example response of the GPMSC when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy at 23 in FIGURE 4 or the mobile subscriber unit
does
not accept the IP voice call at 53 in FIGURE 5. The procedure illustrated in
FIGURE
8 is designated at D in FIGURES 4, 5 and 8. In FIGURE 8, the GPMSC sets up and
conducts a conventional IP voice session between the Internet Host IH and the
GPMSC, and also sets up and conducts a conventional CS voice session between
the
GPMSC and a conventional circuit-switched (CS) voice mailbox (see FIGURE 3).
At 81 in FIGURE 8, the GPMSC 32 translates or converts the IP voice packets
received from the Internet Host IH into circuit-switched voice signals. The
GPMSC
sends the CS voice signals to the CS voice mailbox. At 83, the GPMSC 32
translates
or converts CS voice signals received from the CS voice mailbox into IP voice
packets, and sends the IP voice packets to the Internet Host IH. It will be
recognized
from the procedures at 81 and 83 that the GPMSC 32 operates in FIGURE 8 as a
conventional IP Voice Gateway. If the call is not finished at 85, then the
procedure
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returns to re-enter block 81. If the call is finished at 85, then the
procedure moves to
point A in FIGLTRE 4 to re-enter decision block 21 of FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 9 illustrates another example response of the GPMSC 32 when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy at 23 in FIGURE 4 or the mobile subscriber unit
does
not accept the IP voice call at 53 in FIGURE 5. The procedure of FIGURE 9 is
designated at E in FIGURES 4, 5 and 9. In FIGURE 9, the GPMSC 32 sets up and
conducts an IP voice session between the Internet Host IH and the GPMSC, and
also
sets up and conducts a CS voice session between the GPMSC and a conventional
telephone number (see FIGURE 3). The procedures at 91 and 93 in FIGURE 9 are
analogous to the procedures at 81 and 83 in FIGURE 8, the CS voice session in
FIGURE 9 being conducted between the GPMSC and the telephone number rather
than between the GPMSC and the CS voice mailbox as in FIGURE 8. The
communication link 39 between GPMSC 32 and the telephone number can include,
for example, a PSTN or ISDN network or a radio network (see FIGURE 1).
FIGURE 10 illustrates an example of the response of the GPMSC 32 when the
mobile subscriber unit accepts the IP voice call but chooses the CS mode in
FIGURE
5. The procedure in FIGURE 10 is designated at G in FIGURES 5 and 10. In
FIGURE 10, the GPMSC sets up and conducts an IP voice session between the
Internet Host IH and the GPMSC, and also sets up and conducts a CS voice
session
between the GPMSC and the mobile subscriber unit MS. The procedures indicated
at 101 and 103 in FIGURE 10 are analogous to those indicated at 81 and 83 in
FIGURE 8 and those indicated at 91 and 93 in FIGURE 9, the CS voice session in
FIGURE 10 being conducted between the GPMSC and the mobile subscriber unit MS.
It will thus be appreciated that the GPMSC 32 acts in FIGURE 8 as a
conventional IP Voice Gateway between the Internet Host IH and the CS voice
mailbox, and acts in FIGURE 9 as a conventional IP Voice Gateway between the
Internet Host IH and the telephone number, and acts in FIGURE 10 as a
conventional
IP Voice Gateway between the Internet Host IH and the mobile subscriber unit
MS/DTE.
According to the foregoing description, an IP voice call received from
Internet
Host IH and directed to the mobile subscriber unit MS and data tenninal
equipment
DTE at MS/DTE can be redirected to an IP Voice Mailbox (FIGURE 6) or to
another
.._.. ~
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Internet Host IH1 (FIGURE 7). Further, the GPMSC can be operated as an IP
Voice
Gateway between the Internet Host IH and a circuit-switched voice mailbox
(FIGURE
8) or between the Internet Host IH and a telephone number (FIGURE 9). In each
of
FIGURES 6-9, the information in an IP voice call directed to the mobile
subscriber
unit is redirected or forwarded instead to a destination other than the mobile
subscriber
unit. These redirecting operations of FIGURES 6-9 may be employed when the
mobile subscriber unit is busy at 23 in FIGURE 4 or when the mobile subscriber
unit
does not accept the IP voice call at 53 in FIGURE 5.
If the call waiting procedure of FIGURE 5 is executed after determining that
the mobile station is busy at 23 in FIGURE 4, then any of the operations of
FIGURES
6-9 may be selected if the mobile subscriber unit does not accept the IP voice
call at
53. If the IP voice call is accepted at 53, and if the mobile subscriber unit
chooses the
circuit-switched mode, then the GPMSC 32 acts as an IP Voice Gateway between
the
Intemet Host IH and the mobile subscriber unit MS/DTE as illustrated in FIGURE
10.
If the IP voice call is accepted for packet mode delivery at 55, then a
conventional IP
voice session is set up and conducted between IH and MS/DTE.
The present invention thus provides for processing a packet-switched voice
call
when the mobile subscriber unit is busy in a circuit-switched voice call, and
does not
require rejection of the packet-switched voice call.
All IP voice sessions described above are set up using well-known
conventional techniques such as described in ITU-T (Telecommunication
Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union)
Recommendation H.323 (11/96), which is hereby incorporated herein by
reference.
All CS voice sessions described above are readily set up using well-known
conventional telephony techniques such as promulgated by ITU-T.
It will be evident to workers in the art that GPMSC 32 of FIGURES 3-10 can,
in one example approach, be readily realized by appropriately modifying the
software
in the conventional GPMSC of FIGURES 1-2. Other suitable combinations of
hardware and software modifications in the conventional GPMSC will also
suffice to
realize GPMSC 32, as will be evident to workers in the art in view of the
foregoing
description.
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Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been
described above in detail, this does not limit the scope of the invention,
which can be
practiced in a variety of embodiments.
